Messaging 101: It's a "Cigarette Tax Cut"

[madamesilverspurs]

by: Colorado Pols
Mon Mar 28, 2011 at 10:50:56 AM MDT

http://www.coloradopols.com/diary/15415/messaging-101-its-a-cigarette-tax-cut

As we discussed yesterday, one of the major sticking points responsible for the looming impasse in the Joint Budget Committee this year is a proposal by Republicans to cut sales taxes on cigarettes (note our choice of words). The vivid contrasts offered between cutting cigarette taxes and further cuts to public schools, as we said, make this a politically bizarre, and potentially very costly idea to pursue in the midst of the ongoing fiscal crisis.

To be clear, what we're talking about has its origins in House Bill 09-1342, which eliminated the sales tax exemption for cigarettes in the state two years ago. This bill passed somewhat less controversially than other tax credit repeals a year later, and it was written to "sunset" the exemption repeal after two years. The presumption at the time was that the exemption would be renewed, or not, based on economic and fiscal conditions in 2011.

So what do you think, folks? Has the budget situation improved enough that we can spare the $30 million a year these cigarette sales taxes have brought in? Isn't that almost 10% of the proposed cut to K-12 education this year? Can't the decision to allow the sales tax on cigarettes to "sunset" fairly be called cutting taxes on cigarettes?

The reason we're pointing this out is, we've heard it wrongly inferred that higher taxes on cigarettes are some kind of new proposal by Gov. John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper's proposal only calls for the renewal of the existing sales tax that will otherwise go away. And for the purpose of winning the message war for an anxious voting public, there's a really big difference.

Don't think so? That's cool, you're the reason Democrats lose these debates all the time.

Go to the link to read comments posted to the article.


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[jdlh8894]

1. Just make tobacco illegal.

Then they will get NO taxes. EOM

[calimary]

2. I Frickin' LOVE IT!!! A "Cigarette Tax Cut"

The thing to do is hijack a page from the bad guys' book: add something negative or offensive or off-putting to a word or phrase they worship: like for example, tax cuts.

The Cigarette Tax Cut.

The Pirates' Tax Cut.

The Cheaters' Tax Cut.

The Oil Spill Tax Cut.

The Toxins (or Toxic) Tax Cut.

The Plutonium Tax Cut.

The Corporate Padding Tax Cut.

The Gluttons Tax Cut.

The Tax Cheaters Tax Cut.

The I-Hate-Families Tax Cut.

The Screw Families Tax Cut.

The I-Hate-Kids Tax Cut.

The Anti-Family Tax Cut.

The Child-Cheating Tax Cut.

The Family-Killing Tax Cut.

The Child-Starving Tax Cut.

The Anti-Children Tax Cut.

The Anti-Christian Tax Cut.


The Job-Killing Tax Cut. WHERE THE HELL HAVE THEY BEEN ON THIS ONE??????? WHY IS THIS ONE NOT ON EVERYONE'S LIPS???

And they should revive the concept of Paris Hilton Tax Cut and update it. Maybe the Trump Palace Tax Cut? The "You're Fired" Tax Cut?

How 'bout let's just cut to the chase and bundle it all into one: The Screw-You Tax Cut.

Or The Screw-America Tax Cut.

Start using these. Start planting the seeds. Embed it in the consciousness. Use it in your emails, your blogs, your tweets, your replies, your posts, anything you write.

Do what LBJ did - throw it out there and force them to respond. Force them to react and deny. Then keep calling 'em that. And you can do it backhanded, too, like - "of course I'm not going to call it the 'Screw-America Tax Cut,' because I guess maybe calling it the 'Screw-America Tax Cut' could be misconstrued. But to call it the 'Screw-America Tax Cut' over and over and over again, well, then you have to look at what it means to 'Screw America with Tax Cuts'. Is America being Screwed by Tax Cuts? I don't know but a 'Screw-America Tax Cut' is, ... well, I'm just sayin'..."

You get the idea. Plant the seeds. Poison the well.

:evilgrin:


on edit -

I also like the "Dollar-98 Tax Cut" - which is about what it amounts to when you get your fabulous wonderful republi-CON tax cut that's supposed to solve all your problems and increase your take-home and make you suddenly rich - but in reality can barely cover maybe a single car payment or part of one month's utility bill - if you're lucky. The idea is to make the whole tax-cut idea icky and awful and negative and undesirable. And really not all that great, despite what the bad guys are claiming. Think about it. How much of a real, legitimate, perceptible difference did YOUR tax cut make in YOUR finances? If, indeed, you even qualified for a tax cut?